Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Pregnant Texas Woman From Life Support

A human fetus at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington.(Frans Lanting/Corbis)

A pregnant woman on life support in Texas must be taken off by 5 p.m. CST Monday, a judge has ordered.

Marlise Munoz has been on life support ever since her husband found her unconscious on Nov. 26, when she was 14 weeks pregnant.

Now believed to be at 22 weeks, the fetus has been protected in its mother's body due to a Texas law which John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth says prohibits withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a pregnant patient.

Erick Munoz, Marlise's husband, has said they discussed not wanting life support, but the hospital says it is obligated by law to protect the unborn child.

Judge R.H. Wallace Jr. issued the ruling late Friday after a hearing about whether Munoz was legally dead, and whether she and the baby should be kept on the machines. The hospital is expected to release a statement following the ruling.